Movielogr
The Valachi Papers (1972)
Directed by Terence Young
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When Joe Valachi has a price put on his head by Don Vito Genovese, he must take desperate steps to protect himself while in prison. An unsuccessful attempt to slit his throat puts him over the edge to break the sacred code of silence.
Rated R | Length 125 minutes
Actors
Charles Bronson | Lino Ventura | Jill Ireland | Walter Chiari | Joseph Wiseman | Gerald S. O'Loughlin | Amedeo Nazzari | Fausto Tozzi | Pupella Maggio | Angelo Infanti | Guido Leontini | María Baxa | Mario Pilar | Franco Borelli | Alessandro Sperli | Natasha Chevelev | Anthony Dawson | Fred Valleca | John Alarimo | Calogero Azzaretto | Joe Don Baker | Steve Belloise | Angelo Boscariol | Nestore Cavaricci | Giacomo De Michelis | Bruno Di Luia | Arny Freeman | Alfonso Giganti | Ron Gilbert | Frank Gio | Syl Lamont | Imelde Marani | Isabelle Marchall | Jason McCallum | Sabine Sun | Robert Trout | Franco Ressel | Richard Dunne
Viewing History (seen 1 time)
| Date Viewed | Device | Format | Source | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 05/20/2013 | TV | DVD | Library | 6.5 stars |
| (Average) 6.5 stars |
Viewing Notes
For my Bronson Project and yet another Bronson/Ireland team-up. This is a rather long-winded tale of a mobster Joe Valachi that retells his story with the mafia to save himself while in the joint. Bronson is pretty good throughout but wowie is this a long film. Definitely reminds me of the kind of stuff I’d occasionally see on TV back in 70s, the decade of Mario Puzo. Seemed like there was a lot of crime/mobster films during that time. I get why this movie so long as it’s faithful to the Peter Maas novel but if they tightened up the pacing it might be more effective. There’s lots of good stuff sprinkled in here. There is a weird mistake present when they flashback to the 1920s and during a car chase, you can see the World Trade Center twin towers in the background.
11 years ago
I KNOW I saw this back in the day but can’t really recall much of it. I should give it a re-watch.
11 years ago
It’s definitely worth the watch if you know what you’re in for and prepared for the long haul. Clinical at times but has its flourishes.